


Mug Shots (of espresso)

by arrowcreates



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Bakery and Coffee Shop, Everyone Is Gay, I kind of accidentally set it up for a sequel ficlet, Kind of LAMP?, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Multi, Not completely LAMP but we're getting there, Polyamorous Patton, Polyamory, Teacher Logan, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21851434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowcreates/pseuds/arrowcreates
Summary: Polyamorous LAMP(ish) coffee shop AU, Logan-centric.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38
Collections: Sanders Sides Secret Santa 2019





	Mug Shots (of espresso)

**Author's Note:**

> My giftee was hghrules on tumblr. Merry Christmas or happy holidays to you!

Caffeine. One of the few legal substances with addictive tendencies. Someone truly addicted would drink almost exclusively caffeine. And, well, Logan really liked his coffee. 

He was particular about his coffee, though. It needed the exact right amount of milk, a precise measurement of Splenda. He had tried Starbucks; it was too sweet. Dunkin' Donuts was too bitter. He suspected they were better at donuts than coffee, but he rarely ate donuts and therefore did not recognize himself as an authority on such matters.

When he didn't have the time to make his own coffee, which was most mornings as of late, there was only one shop in town he could trust with his business. And as his 13th alarm rushed him out the door, he hoped he had enough change in his car to stop in today. 

As luck would have it, he had 14 cents more than his coffee plus tax in the center console. He made a mental note as he gathered up the coins to replenish his stash next time he got paid. 

Logan no longer reacted to the familiar chime as he stepped into Mug Shots (a triple pun, one his boyfriend Patton had much appreciated when he came in last week). The smell of muffins baking in the back made his stomach growl, but he non-verbally shushed himself as he approached the counter. He couldn't afford food this morning. 

Behind the counter was another familiar sight in the store, and a welcome one at that. Roman had been working at Mug Shots long before Logan moved to the college town, or so he claimed. Logan suspected, despite his young age, that he was the owner. He hadn't been able to prove it yet, though. "Morning, Logan!" He greeted. His usual apron had been replaced with an actual work shirt for a change. It was an odd look on him. 

Logan couldn’t deny that Roman was attractive, very much so. Dark wavy hair, bright green eyes, and the build of a football player, Roman very much fit the ‘popular’ stereotype. And to hear him tell it, he had been exactly that in high school. Logan imagined that if he weren’t dating Patton already, he would have already made a move on Roman. But he wouldn’t do that to Patton.

"Good morning, Roman. Large mocha, no-" 

Roman waved a hand as he tapped at the computer screen. "No foam, almond milk instead of whole, one shot of espresso, two and a half tablespoons of Splenda. Did I get it this time?" 

Logan went over the order again in his head. "Teaspoons, not tablespoons. A valiant effort, nonetheless," he told him. 

Roman clutched his chest dramatically and gasped. "Be still, my poor heart!" He held his hand out, knowing Logan always brought exact change, then opened the till. "I'm going to have the new guy make your drink this morning. I hope that's alright." 

"Amenable. May I ask why? He's been training for some time now, correct?" Logan hadn't seen him yet today. He was likely the one baking in the back. 

Nodding his head, Roman passed Logan the receipt. "He's mainly been learning our baked goods. Kid's a whiz with recipes. I only started him on drinks Saturday, but he's learning quickly. Your order is the most complicated in town, I figured it'd be a good test of his skills." 

He leaned around the corner into the back of the store. "Virgil! When you're done with those, come up here for a sec!" He called. Logan couldn't quite hear Virgil's response.

"Is it now? I had no idea, and yet I'm not at all surprised." Logan took up a perch at one of the tables nearest the counter. If a new employee was making his coffee, he wanted to observe the process. "I have little time this morning, Shiba was acting up before I left." 

Roman shook his head. "I still don't know how the RAs who come in here haven't complained about that cat. Everyone loves her." 

"Especially Patton, despite his allergy," Logan said. "He takes more Allegra than anyone I've ever seen, just to be able to live with me. Even more now that the season had changed." 

Was it his imagination, or had Roman deflated slightly when Logan brought up Patton? He wasn't given a chance to find out, because a young man slipped past Roman and stole his attention to ask about Logan's drink. 

The man couldn't have been much younger than Roman and himself, but he certainly looked like he'd seen more during his time. There were dark circles under his eyes and a seemingly permanent scowl on his face. His apron, or rather Roman's apron, was covered in flour. There was a smudge of green frosting on his cheek, out of place with the muffin-scented air. 

Logan noticed all of this in the few seconds or so between his interruption and Roman's reply. This was the same amount of time it took for Virgil (for who else could it be?) to notice him. His eyes widened just slightly, though Logan could not have said why. Logan quirked an eyebrow, and Virgil’s face scrunched up and then relaxed. 

Roman was staring between them. Perhaps he wasn’t as oblivious as Logan sometimes thought him. “Logan, this is Virgil. Virgil, Logan.” 

“I know who he is, Roman,” Virgil stated. He grabbed a to-go cup and stepped behind Roman to grab the almond milk from the fridge. “You’re Patton’s boyfriend, right? The TA for Professor Sanders’ class?” 

Again Roman looked like he’d eaten a lemon, and again Logan was confused. How could anyone hate Patton? He was as close to literal sunshine as a human could possibly achieve. Logan would have to remember to ask Patton what he could have possibly done to upset Roman so. “That is correct, though I would hardly call myself a TA. I wasn’t aware you knew Patton.”

Virgil shrugged, nearly upsetting the milk as he set it down. “You said two and a half spoons of Splenda, Roman?” he asked. After Roman nodded, and excused himself to go check the muffins, Virgil responded to Logan. “Patton and I have a few classes together. Not surprised he hasn’t mentioned me, he seems sorta forgetful sometimes.” 

“He can be. And that’s teaspoons, not tablespoons.” There was a half of a second where Virgil met his eyes, looking surprised. Then he looked back down at the drink, and it seemed to click for him why Logan was still in the store. “Patton is a good man. Oftentimes he reminds me to sleep, or eat.”

“How do you forget to eat? That’s, like, a basic human necessity. That’s like forgetting to breath,” Virgil commented. He measured out a shot of espresso. Logan noted that his hands were shaking. Perhaps a nervous tick of a sort. 

Logan took a moment to check his phone, cursing under his breath. If he didn’t leave immediately, he would have to speed to be on time for his class. “Papers to grade,” he responded simply. He grabbed his bag and stood, slinging the strap over his head. 

“I guess that makes sense. Here you go, Logan.” He fixed the lid on and passed it over. Roman reappeared with a tray of muffins, and Virgil leaned over the counter to give him room. 

Logan took a step back. Personal boundaries were very important to him, and if he hadn’t known the reason for Virgil getting close he would have been mad. “Thank you for the coffee,” he said. “Have a nice day, Roman.”

Roman turned to grin at him while Virgil settled his arms on the counter and rested on them. “See you tomorrow, Logan!” He chirped. “Come on, Virgil, go clean up that mess you made.” 

Logan left the shop to the sound of Virgil complaining that Roman pulled him away before he could clean. Sitting in his car, he took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. Not enough espresso, though he could forgive it when he thought of how Virgil’s hands had been shaking. 

4 hours later, Logan unlocked the door to his apartment with a sigh. Given how close the students were to end of term, he shouldn’t have been surprised by how distracted they’d been today. He had heard from Professor Sanders that he would be giving out their final study guide next class, so he had gone easy on them today. Still, even if he was merely an assistant, he ought to be listened to as an authority. 

As soon as he had the door open, a dark streak raced across his living room and planted itself on his feet. “Shiba, get off of my shoes,” he ordered. She blinked up at him and began to purr. He didn’t have to worry about her escaping, but he couldn’t get inside if she had him trapped. “Patton, are you home?” he called. 

He heard an answering sneeze from the bedroom. “Coming!” Patton hollered. “Remy told me you were late to class today, sweetie. What happened?” His boyfriend, all 5’2” of him, came padding out to the living room, stifling a laugh when he saw Logan’s predicament. 

“How would Remy know I was late? He dropped out of that course two weeks in,” Logan huffed. Patton grinned at him as he went to get the treats, and Logan felt a brief stab of guilt. How could he ever date Roman when Patton was the best thing that had ever happened to him? “I think the change of the seasons is getting to me, truth be told. I’ve been unusually emotional lately.” 

Patton poked his hand into Shiba’s eyesight to try and tempt her off of Logan’s toes, but the cat held firm. “About what? And Emile told Remy, of course. Remy told me in passing.” 

“Of course Emile told him. I was late because there was a new person making my coffee at Roman’s shop, and he was slower than Roman usually is. He said he was a friend of yours, name of Virgil?” Logan finally gave in and stopped down, hauling Shiba up into his arms. The beast purred even louder. 

Patton waved his hands excitedly, and Logan had a rush of affection for his sunshine. “Virgil started at the coffee shop? When? I have to go in and say hi!” 

“As far as I’m aware he’s been there for a while. How come you never mentioned him before?” Logan couldn’t help but ask. 

Shiba yowled, demanding she be scratched. Patton darted over and rubbed his fingers under her chin. “Subject never came up. We used to talk a lot, but not so much after he asked me out.” 

Logan blinked. “Virgil asked you out? Why did you not say something?” 

“I didn’t want to upset you. I know you’re not quite used to the polyam thing yet, so I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize what we have. I’m happy with you. I was afraid you would think otherwise if I said yes to him.” Patton had curled in on himself slightly, one of his tells that he was scared. 

Logan set Shiba down on the sofa and turned back to face Patton. “Patton, sunshine, do you like him back?” he asked. “Be honest. I promise I will not be mad.” 

Patton reached out and grabbed one of Logan’s hands between his. “I do. But I don’t like you any less, I promise! It’s a completely different thing.” 

“I only want what makes you happy, Patton. If being with both Virgil and myself accomplishes that goal, I will not try to sabotage it.”

The light in Patton’s eyes was enough to make Logan smile. “Really? You won’t be mad if I date you both?”

Logan shook his head, leaning down to press a kiss to Patton’s forehead. Patton wrapped his arms around him and laid his head against his chest. “No. That is not to say adjusting will not take time, but I will try my best.” 

Patton giggled. “Thank you, starlight. I’ll talk to him first thing tomorrow and explain what happened. Hopefully he’ll still be willing to try this again.” He pulled away and picked up his phone. “Does pizza sound okay for dinner? I didn’t have time to get to the store today.” 

“Sure. I have to grade the students’ essays tonight, we can sit and talk while I work.” Logan pulled off his bag and retrieved a large stack of papers from inside. “I told them to write five pages maximum. Clearly some of them did not listen.”

Patton stepped out of the room to order the food. While he was gone, Logan wondered if he should say something about Roman. He’d only recently begun to entertain such thoughts, but he didn’t want to end things with Patton just to try something new with someone else. 

“The pizza should be here in about 30 minutes, they’re busy tonight,” Patton said, plopping down next to Logan on the couch. Logan started slightly; he hadn’t noticed Patton come back in. How unlike him. “Logan, are you okay? What’s wrong?” 

Logan shook his head, flipping over the first essay to check for any grammatical errors. Perhaps it would be best if he said nothing. But Patton snatched the paper out of his hand. “Logan, talk to me. Please. Something’s bothering you. Is it Virgil? I can-”

“No, Patton, it’s not Virgil.” Logan set down his pen and stared intently at Shiba, who was sleeping curled between them. “I have been… wondering things lately. How did you know you were polyamorous, Patton?”

If Patton was startled by his question, he didn’t show it. “Well, I was watching Remy and Emile one morning in high school, I think it was junior year, and I remember thinking that it would be lovely to have so many people who loved me, all at once. It’s been a natural thing for me to accept it, but I know other people who didn’t have near as easy a time as I did. So who is he?” Patton prodded, not unkindly. 

“How do you know I am asking for myself?” Logan retorted. 

“Not many people would say they’ve been thinking about stuff and then ask a question like that, starlight,” Patton told him. Logan hated that he could see the logic in that. “Who were you talking about, Logan?” 

Logan sighed. “Roman. From the coffee shop? He’s annoyingly handsome.” 

Patton laughed. “He  _ is _ really cute, I’ll admit. If you wanna ask him out, I wouldn’t mind. He might not go for it since you’ve already got me, though. Some people don’t like to share.” 

A ding interrupted their talk, and Patton got up to get the pizza. Logan knew without having to ask that he tipped 20%; he always did and always would, even if money was tight. He knew his boyfriend took milk in his tea, but not his coffee. He knew he preferred pink flowers to red, and Scrabble over Pictionary. He knew so many things about Patton that he could write a book about him. What would it be like, he wondered, to know not just one, but two people, as well as he knew Patton? Was this similar to how Patton had felt, years ago, on that morning he’d just described? Maybe. But he couldn’t be sure. Not without taking a risk, taking the leap of faith Patton seemed to be encouraging him to take. 

“I’ve got the pizza!” Patton said, sweeping back in with two boxes. Logan could smell the breadsticks and pepperoni, and he remembered he hadn’t eaten yet today. “One piece or two, to start?” 

“Just one for now, thank you,” Logan replied. “If I get these essays dirty, Professor Sanders would skin me in front of my students.” He took a grateful bite out of a slice of pepperoni pizza that Patton handed him and sighed. 

Patton laughed. “He’s not that bad, you’re just a people pleaser,” he teased. He tossed a pepperoni behind the couch for Shiba when he thought Logan wasn’t watching, then spoke again. “So what are you going to do about Roman, starshine?” 

Logan finished chewing before he answered. “I think the only solution here is to speak with him and get his opinion on the matter. I won’t lie or try to mislead him by saying I am not already taken, but I will let him know that you aren’t opposed should he agree to let us at least attempt a romantic relationship.” 

“That was a really long sentence, but I think I understood what you meant. Maybe I can come in with you tomorrow when you get your coffee? If we go before they open, we can each talk to them without being interrupted, right?” Patton snapped a breadstick in half and handed half of it to Logan. 

“Mmhm. I don’t see why that would not work. We shall try that. Thank you, Patton.” 

“Anytime. I love you, Logan.”

“I love you, too.”

At 6:36 am, Patton and Logan arrived at Mug Shots. The store didn’t open until 7:30, but Logan wanted to ensure they both had plenty of time to talk to Virgil and Roman. He could see Roman now, sweeping. Presumably Virgil was in the back. 

Poor Patton looked as nervous as Logan felt, but he also looked excited. This would likely go easier for him than Logan, since they both knew Virgil reciprocated his feelings. The outlier here was Roman, and Logan was irritatingly aware of that as he lifted a hand and knocked on the window by the door. 

Roman jumped, but then looked up and grinned. He laid the broom against a table and hurried over, unlocking the door and pulling it open. “Hey, Logan, Patton. What are you two doing out here so early, it’s like 20 degrees. Come inside, before you both freeze.” 

Patton slipped inside, pulling Logan along with him. “Morning, Roman. Is Virgil here? I need to talk to him about something. And  _ he _ needs to talk to  _ you _ .” He nudged Logan, who scowled fondly at him. 

Roman looked nothing short of utterly concerned. “Virgil is in the back. I don’t normally let customers go back there, but if you need to talk privately, I’ll make an exception. Just this once, okay?” Nodding, Patton planted a kiss on Logan’s cheek and skipped around the counter, calling for Virgil. “And don’t mess with the cookie dough!” Roman called after him. 

They both heard a crash, and Roman almost ran to the back, but he seemed to suddenly remember Logan was there, because he took a deep breath and turned to face him. “If he breaks anything back there, he’s paying for it,” he joked. At least, Logan thought he was joking. “So you wanted to talk to me?” 

Logan nodded once, anxiety restricting his movements. “Yes. Are you aware that Patton is polyamorous?” 

“Uh, I think he mentioned it to me once? I know what it is, if that’s what you’re asking. Or, if you’re asking, I’m not. Poly, I mean,” Roman answered. 

Logan was glad to have something he could focus on to distract him. “Actually, poly is an abbreviation for Polynesian. The correct, or at least maybe better, abbreviation for polyamorous would be polyam. But anyway, he is.” 

Roman nodded, picking up his broom and beginning to sweep again as they spoke. “Alright, so Patton is polyam. What does that have to do with me? He doesn’t like me, does he? He’s cute and all, but I’ve got my eye on someone else.” 

Logan almost didn’t register Roman’s last sentence, he was so busy laughing. “No, or at least I don’t think so. He might develop an attraction to you, outside of his current aesthetic one, if you spend a bit more time around us. No, he is here to woo Virgil, actually.”

There was a pause of silence, through which soft chatter could be heard from the kitchen. Logan was processing, while Roman just seemed confused. Finally, Logan asked, “You said you have your eye on someone already?” 

Roman smiled. “Yeah. He’s tall, blond, and a massive nerd. Smartest guy I know. Has a cat, cute little fluff ball. Comes in regularly.”

“Roman’s crush is named Logan, by the way.” They both turned to see Virgil carrying a box of what looked like creamer. His face was red, though whether from embarrassment or heat Logan couldn’t begin to guess. Patton was trailing behind him, grinning like a mad man. Logan assumed their conversation had gone well. 

Alarmingly, Roman seemed to be trying to achieve a similar shade. “Virgil, remind me to fire you later.”

“Whatever, boss.” 

Logan stared at Roman for a solid thirteen seconds before he could think of anything to say. “I can assure you the feeling is mutual,” is what he came up with. Not exactly the most romantic way to put it out there, but it had Roman lighting up like a Christmas tree. 

“You do?”

Logan nodded. “Most assuredly. I’ve been reflecting on it for some time. Perhaps you are not polyam, but that does not have to mean we cannot still try out a relationship.”

“Let’s all go on a double date!” Patton yelled. 

The other three all laughed. While Virgil coaxed Patton into helping him sort the out-of-date cookies from the rest, Roman gave Logan a soft smile. “I would very much enjoy that.” 

“You know what, Roman? So would I.”


End file.
